The films opening today are ones that nobody wants to see, which I think is part of Hollywood’s master plan to make everyone stay home and watch the Oscars. Which makes sense, really. Why cannibalize your audience?
Tyler Perry’s new “Madea Goes to Jail,” evidently a remake of a Jim Varney film (I suppose next she’ll be going to camp and/or saving Christmas?), opens as one of Hollywood’s Shameful Secrets®, though I guess it’s really one of Atlanta’s Shameful Secrets, since Perry famously works outside the usual studio system. Anyhoo, it wasn’t pre-screened, but I’m reviewing it later today because I’m curious about Mr. Perry’s work. Jay-kay, I’m getting paid $$$.
The other new wide release is “Fired Up!,” a horndog comedy about boys infiltrating cheerleader camp. It’s quite a bit funnier than I expected, with some genuinely sharp dialogue sprinkled throughout — but it’s still no better than a C+ movie. And you probably weren’t going to see it anyway.
Oh, and I gots me a review of “The Class,” a French schoolteacher film that’s been making the rounds, just in time to probably win the foreign-language Oscar on Sunday. It’s pretty good. An associate of mine who saw it with me didn’t care for it, though, and he said as we left, “I knew it covered an entire school year, but I didn’t know it happened in real time.” OH SNAP! You can see why I’d associate with someone like that.
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